Six sentenced for fireworks explosion
( 2001-11-29 11:28 ) (8 )

Six people responsible for a fireworks factory explosion that killed 40 people in Jiangmen City of south China's Guangdong Province in June last year, were given imprisonment terms ranging from three to five years Wednesday.

The Intermediate People's Court of Jiangmen handed down five years' imprisonment to Wan Xiaoling, an employee with the factory, Jian Youmei, the manager, and Huang Weijian, the deputy manager. Another three employees of the factory were also imprisoned.

The explosion was found to be ignited by sparks produced by Wang Xiaoling, who pounded iron nails inside the warehouse building used to stockpile fireworks and explosive materials.

While 40 were killed in the blasts, over 130 people were injured, 45 of whom were disabled. Some 1,700 residential houses and 66 factories and mines near the site were damaged with property losses totaling over 2.5 million yuan worth.